Did something happen to the series that made most people lose interest?
Summary:
The Rising of the Shield Hero was supposed to be one of the biggest isekai anime, but the third season is airing right now, and it is barely discussed online.
It is, to a degree, the fault of the arc covered by the second season.
It still has a decent following, which seems happy about the series not attracting many arguments and controversies anymore.
When The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari) released back in 2019, the fans were ecstatic. One of the most beloved isekai light novels was getting an adaptation — surely, it was going to become a new staple of the genre in the anime medium as well? Even though there were many controversies regarding the first season, the series had a steady following, and with the announcement of two more seasons, it looked like the anime had a bright future. However, the stats behind the currently airing Season 3 leave much to be desired.
At first, nothing seems to be wrong
On paper, there seems to be nothing actually wrong with the Shield Hero S3’s popularity. On MyAnimeList, it’s the most popular show that started this season — and of all shows airing right now, it is only behind One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen S2. It would seem like the series is as popular as ever, but there’s a catch: MAL takes into account people who simply put the series into the “Plan to Watch” list. Indeed, the number of people who actually started the show is less than a third of the number of overall members — which would put Shield Hero S3 behind Shangri-La frontier, which, while big, is definitely not among the biggest shows this season.
Reasons behind the series’ drop-off
The discrepancy in the statistics comes from multiple reasons. Firstly, the original sequel announcement for Shield Hero announced both S2 and S3 together, with many people setting both to “Plan to Watch”. However, S2 itself was very coldly received by fans. Adapting an arc that, in the light novels, was mostly panned for its excessive length and ultimate pointlessness, it drove many people away from the series, leaving Season 3 less popular than it otherwise would have been. A noticeable quality drop-off in animation in Season 2 also didn’t help, with many fans being disappointed and reluctant to watch the anime any further.
Is there a way for the anime to recover its popularity?
As it is now, Shield Hero is still moderately popular. It may no longer be the biggest thing ever, but people who got through the second season are still watching it, and seem to be quite happy with it. While many other isekais are more popular than Shield Hero today, perhaps it is for the better. Let the fans enjoy their series without sparking endless controversies behind it.
Did something happen to the series that made most people lose interest?
Summary:
The Rising of the Shield Hero was supposed to be one of the biggest isekai anime, but the third season is airing right now, and it is barely discussed online.
It is, to a degree, the fault of the arc covered by the second season.
It still has a decent following, which seems happy about the series not attracting many arguments and controversies anymore.
When The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari) released back in 2019, the fans were ecstatic. One of the most beloved isekai light novels was getting an adaptation — surely, it was going to become a new staple of the genre in the anime medium as well? Even though there were many controversies regarding the first season, the series had a steady following, and with the announcement of two more seasons, it looked like the anime had a bright future. However, the stats behind the currently airing Season 3 leave much to be desired.
At first, nothing seems to be wrong
On paper, there seems to be nothing actually wrong with the Shield Hero S3’s popularity. On MyAnimeList, it’s the most popular show that started this season — and of all shows airing right now, it is only behind One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen S2. It would seem like the series is as popular as ever, but there’s a catch: MAL takes into account people who simply put the series into the “Plan to Watch” list. Indeed, the number of people who actually started the show is less than a third of the number of overall members — which would put Shield Hero S3 behind Shangri-La frontier, which, while big, is definitely not among the biggest shows this season.
Reasons behind the series’ drop-off
The discrepancy in the statistics comes from multiple reasons. Firstly, the original sequel announcement for Shield Hero announced both S2 and S3 together, with many people setting both to “Plan to Watch”. However, S2 itself was very coldly received by fans. Adapting an arc that, in the light novels, was mostly panned for its excessive length and ultimate pointlessness, it drove many people away from the series, leaving Season 3 less popular than it otherwise would have been. A noticeable quality drop-off in animation in Season 2 also didn’t help, with many fans being disappointed and reluctant to watch the anime any further.
Is there a way for the anime to recover its popularity?
As it is now, Shield Hero is still moderately popular. It may no longer be the biggest thing ever, but people who got through the second season are still watching it, and seem to be quite happy with it. While many other isekais are more popular than Shield Hero today, perhaps it is for the better. Let the fans enjoy their series without sparking endless controversies behind it.
